Love is Complicated
by Wolf Ness
Summary: Candice loves Volkner. Volkner is interested in someone else. basic summary, full summary inside. i dont have space here. Rated T for safety, and language in later chapters.
1. Visit

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of it's characters. I never will.

Summary: Candice loves Volkner. Volkner is interested in someone else, but may feel the same for her also. So Candice tries to win his heart, but faces some problems. And with Team Galactic up to their evil plans, it makes things a lot harder for Candice.

_Well this is my first fanfic. I might change the character's personality a bit, or as much as I need to, in order for my story to work out. There might be fluff. I do not want anybody getting angry with me. If u don't like it, or think it could be better, say so. I don't want people flaming me because my first fanfic was bad. _

_Well, here you go!_

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Chapter 1: Visit

**CANDICE POV**

I kept riding down route 222 when, finally, Sunyshore City came into view. It was still only 12 noon, so I wasn't in any rush. It's late spring and the heat is rising. Its on time like this when I wonder why I wrap my jacket around my waist, and bring it everywhere I go. Like seriously, _everywhere_. And yet, I almost never wear it.

To be honest, I don't like the heat. _Especially _summer heat. Though warm weather is nice, I'd prefer it cool and cloudy, like it is back in Snowpoint. So why was I headed to the sunniest city in all of Sinnoh? Simple. Being the 7th gym leader in a region, there aren't that many trainer challenges. And when people have to go through a mountain and a blizzard to get to the city, you get even less challengers. Leaving me, with a lot of free time. So I decided to visit Volkner, the 8th gym leader, who has even less challenger and more free time than I do. I can see why he is always bored. I would normally visit Maylene, my best friend, but she's been really busy with trainers these days. Alright! For those of you people glaring at me, I'll spill! I'm totally in love with the guy! Another one of my reasons for coming here: to see him again. Are you happy now?

I'm right in front of the gym. I locked my bike onto the railing and went in. Surprisingly, there weren't any of those annoying trainers, **(AN: you know, the ones that are like "our eyes met, so we must battle!") **so that made it easier to go to the main area. As I stood in front of the doors, I heard voices coming from the other side. I pressed my ear against the door and listened. I could hear Volkner talking to another guy. He sounded like he was talking though a microphone or something. Recognizing the voice, I knew that Volkner was talking to Flint on the screen-phone. **(AN: I forgot what its called so I'm calling it a screen-phone b/c u talk through a telephone and you see the person on the screen.) **Well, if I wanted to start this day off excitingly, I'd have to put the evil side of my brain to work. I stood up, stepped back, took a deep breath and…

**VOLKNER POV**

**1 minute earlier**

"You know how the gyms are gonna be closed for a week next month, for the 4th of July, right?" asked Flint.

"Yeah I know," I nodded. Raichu came and curled up next to my leg. I scratched him behind the ears. Flint, for the last ½ hour, had been talking about things he could pull off on the other elite four members. I was getting bored of his chatter.

"Well since everyone will be free, we could throw a party!"

I smiled. "That's the first useful thing u said all morning, even though I'm not going to be there."

"Why not?" asked Flint, obviously ignoring the comment I made.

"You know I don't like parties that much; always too crowded."

Flint put his head on his hand. "Sometimes I wonder how we ever got to be best friends. Well I was thinking that we should--"

Just then the doors burst open and I heard someone yell really loud, "Volkner, I challenge you to a Gym battle!" Caught by surprise, I threw the phone in the air, and missed when I tried to catch it. It landed on Raichu's head, who got mad and zapped me with a jolt of lightning. I could hear Flint laughing like crazy.

"wow! I thought your hair was spikey before, but this is a whole new level!" said a familiar voice. I turned to see Candice bent over in laughter. "Talk to you later Flint," I said, then turned off the screen phone. I glared at Candice.

"What?" she asked "Aww c'mon! you gotta admit that was pretty funny, or at least it adds a bit of excitement into your boring life."

I frowned. "That was _not _funny, and no it did not add any excitement in my boring--- Hey!" That made her crack up even more. Arceus, if it was possible, she probably would've died laughing right there. "I'm sorry. I thought it would be funny if I did something to startle you two," she said, referring to me and Flint. "Whatever, I'm used to shocks like that anyway," I sighed. I guess I could let this slide. Then I asked, "Why are you here in Sunyshore anyway?"

**(AN: I was originaly going to end the chapter here, but i decided to put both parts as one chapter)**

**CANDICE POV**

"Why are you here in Sunyshore anyway?" he asked.

"I decided to use some of my free time away from Snowpoint. I came here because I figured Gardenia and Maylene were pretty occupied back in their Gyms." 'And I wanted to see you again,' I thought. But of course, I wasn't gonna him know that. I'd sound creepy. "Sooo…" I started. "Is there anything interesting I could do while I'm here?"

Volkner thought for a moment. "This seems to be your first time here, so I guess I could start off by showing you around and we'll see where things go from there."

"Sure." I remained calm on the outside while inside I was screaming with joy. 'Yay! imma spend a whole day with Volkner!'

Just because this was was my first time here, doesn't mean it's gonna be my last. And I had a feeling he knew that because he was showing me exactly how to get to places. When we stopped by a restaurant I made him wait for me to eat, since I hadn't eaten sice breakfast. As we continued through the tour, I almost wished this day would never end. 'But I still never told him I love him. And I don't know if he loves me back. Maybe some other time.' I was so caught up that I never noticed the time.

**NO POV**

Volkner and Candice were up on the solar panel roads as the sun was setting. Volkner really didn't say much the whole day, aside from saying where to get from where, while Candice always found something to talk about. 'Man, Candice talks more than Flint does! She does ramble at times but at least its' usually something I can take an interest in,' thought Volkner.

Candice didn't even notice the sun was setting until Volkner said, "I guess you'd better head home soon if you want to get there early." Candice turned with a confused look.

"Huh?" She looked towards the sunset before saying, "Oops. The time must have slipped my mind."

Volkner chuckled. "I'm glad I got some company today that wasn't a certain redhead." Candice smiled and her heart beat slightly faster. "And I suggest that you might want to change into long pants before you leave. Snowpoint City must be cold being that far north," he added.

Candice just shrugged. "It's always snowing in Snowpoint, and I'm pretty much used to the cold. This is what I usually wear back at home. But it was nice to to go somewhere warm and sunny, even thought I don't like the heat too much."

Volkner just nodded and thought, 'I guess Candice must _really _be used to the cold, considering the fact that she lives in the coldest place in sinnoh, and dresses in a skirt. And that's what she _usually _wears. Oh well, she still looks pretty in it.' Volkner smiled at the thought before a part of his brain clicked on and he realized what he was just thinking. Candice noticed Volkner spacing out while she was talking. She started waving her hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth-to-Volkner." He snapped back into reality.

"Huh, what?"

"I said that you should come over some time, you can even bring Flint along, I know how you guys are friends. We could have so much fun in Snowpoint." Volkner paused in thought before replying. "Um, sure why not?" He didn't like the cold much, but he didn't want to be rude. 'Besides, it's not like Flint's not going to drag me there sometime anyway,' he thought.

"So, until next time?" Candice asked. She held her fist out in front of her. Volkner smiled again. "'Till next time," he said, and tapped her fist with his. Candice smiled back and turned to leave.

'Oh Volkner,' thought Candice as she rode away on her bike, 'I love you. But I can't let you know that. Not yet at least.' It was going to be a long ride home. Volkner had gone up the lighthouse and watched her leave.

'Candice, you're always so friendly and cheery towards everybody. I like that about you. But I cant feel that way about you. We're just friends. I love someone else.' He turned and headed back to the Gym with these thoughts in mind.

_*Gasp!* OMG! Who is it that volkner loves? i'm not telling!  
i've been working on this for a long time! i would normally just give up on a story when i get a major writer's block, but i'm writing this one because my friend wanted to read it.  
well, i hope you liked it. please review! i want to know how i did. =)_


	2. Chats and Invitations

_I do not own Pokemon.  
__If I did, then series wouldn't be revolving around Ash. I do not own the song 'you belong with me' either.  
Authors Note: Whatever pokemon i say they have, lets just say they have it._

"speaking"  
'_thoughts_'  
_Well here's chapter 2 =)_

* * *

NO POV

In Snowpoint Gym, one month later

Candice had just finished another Gym battle. The challenger had won. She had been getting a lot of battles recently. No surprise. Snowpoint is at its warmest in the summer and there isn't as much snow as the rest of the year. "-sigh- I wonder how Maylene and Gardenia are doing," she said to herself. As if on cue, the screen-phone stared to buzz. Someone was calling. She picked up the phone. A young girl with short pink hair showed up on the screen. "Maylene! Oh my god its good to hear from you again!" exclaimed Candice.

"It's good to talk to you again," Maylene replied. "Sorry I didn't call sooner. I've been really busy these days."

"I figured much. I get really bored since I don't have any trainers to battle," said Candice.

"So," began Maylene, "did anything exciting happen?"

Candice shrugged. "Nah. Except for my trip to Sunyshore, I didn't do much here."

"Oh that's cool. So what'd you do while you were in … wait! Did you say you went to _Sunyshore_?!" Maylene's eyes widened. Candice gave her a weird expression.

"Yeah why?"

"OMG! Did you see him?! Did you tell him?! Did ya?! Did ya?! OMG, are you going out now?! Where'd you go on your first date?! Do you guys do that boyfriend-girlfriend thing where you call each other silly names like cookie-poo or honey-bunch or sweetie-kinz?! OMG, you know that song 'You belong With Me' by Taylor Swift?! Does he play an instrument?! If he did he could totally play it for you, it would be sooo romantic! No, he should play it to you on a beach. OMG, you should-"

"Maylene! Slow down! Nothing Happened!" yelled Candice.

"huh?"

"I said nothing happened," she repeated. There was a short silence before Candice asked, "Are you high on something? Its not like you to jump top conclusions like that. Oh and don't ramble; that's my thing!" "I wasn't rambling! And no I'm not high on anything! I just saw a cup a coffee on the table and I wanted to try it so I did and… and don't try to change the subject! Give me all the details!" insisted Maylene almost yelling. Candice had to put her ear away from the phone because she was talking so loud. "Well lets see," started Candice. "I scared the crap out of Flint and Volkner. Raichu zapped him because me scaring them…"

"Wow Candice, you sure have an effective way of telling a guy you like him," said Maylene.

"Ha-ha. Very funny Maylene. Anyway, he did get mad at me, but then he just let it go and we hung out. You know, like walk around and stuff."

"And stuff? What _kind _of stuff?"

"Oh God Maylene, would you not do that to me?" Candice asked her. "And when I said 'and stuff' I didn't mean anything!" "Uh-huh. Sure you didn't." "Argh! What am I going to do with you. Jeez! Thanks for getting me distracted," Candice said in a sarcastic voice. "Well, during the end of the day he noticed it was getting late and told me that I might want to leave if I wanted to get home before dark. But not even I can peddle that fast. Especially going up Mt… damn it! Got off topic again. And he also told me that I might want to wear long pants coming back because it would be cold going back."

"Awww," teased Maylene. "He already cares about you." then she started cracking up.

Candice felt her cheeks grow hot. '_Arceus, I am going to kill this girl someday_,' she thought. "Maylene!" Candice cried. "Would you please stop messing with my head?"

"May-be," she replied inbetween her laughter. Candice glared at the pink haired girl through the screen. "Okay, okay. I'm done," said Maylene. "I can tell you're dying to change the subject. Did anything else happen?"

"That's pretty much what happened. We both said 'till next time' and then I left."

"Hm, from what you told me, it seems like … never mind. We can talk about that in person. Now, when's the next time you're coming over? Or do you want me to go over there? If I can come over that is."

"To answer your first question, I can come over almost anytime you want me to. There's not much to do around here half of the time. As for your second question, seriously Maylene, are you going to ask something like that? You know you can come over anytime you like. You're basically the only person who _likes _climbing up the mountain here," exclaimed Candice.

Maylene nodded. "Its too bad we live so far apart," she sighed. "But on the bright side," she continued, "the Gyms are closed all of next week. We can set a day and place, then the three of us can just talk and relax for the week. You, me, and Gardenia." Gardenia. Candice had forgotten all about her ginger-haired friend. She started wonder how her friend was doing, having not seen or heard from her in a long time. Maylene brought her back to Earth when she said, "We'll finish talking the next time we see each other. Right now I have a challenger waiting. It seems like I'm getting a lot of those these days. Bye!"

"Bye," replied Candice but Maylene had already turned off the screen. Candice turned the screen off on her end, and got up to leave the Gym. On the way to her house, she got lost in her thoughts.

'_Being the seventh Gym leader is great, and I like it. But I hardly get any challengers. It's no fun when there's barely any trainer strong enough to give me an exciting battle_.' If Candice had been paying attention to where she was going, she would've been able to avoid the street lamp she walked into. "Ow! Man Candice you're starting to lose it," she said to herself. "Walking into street lamps. I suppose next I'm going to walk into walls."

As soon as she got to her house, she released her pokemon. First came out a Sneasel, then Glaceon, Abomasnow, and Froslass. The little two clawed pokemon stretched before running off somewhere into the house. The big treelike pokemon (**AN: Abomasnow incase u didn't know) **stretched its arms and legs before making its way into a corner to rest. Froslass hovered beside Abomasnow, layed down beside the big pokemon and closed her eyes letting sleep get to her.

Glaceon decided to stay with Candice and followed her trainer up the stairs into her room. "I guess you're not completely worn out huh?" said Candice to the little blue dog-like pokemon. Glaceon just looked up at her and sort of smiled. Candice sat down in front of her computer and checked her emails. She had two new messages in her inbox. She opened up the first one, which was from Gardenia. It read:

_Hey! Its me! Sorry. I haven't had any time to call, email, or write. I would normally ask how everything was, but I'm going to see you next week anyway. Eeeek! I have so much to tell you! See ya in seven days! Well, maybe. Which brings me to the question: Are you going?_

'Going where?' thought Candice. Having no idea what Gardenia meant, Candice read the other email before replying. It was from Flint. 'Now what could Flint possibly want with me?' she thought. "Only one way to find out." This one read:

_You're invited! I'm throwing a fourth of July Gym Party!_

_When - July 4 of course!_

_Where - Sunyshore Gym (it's the only way I can get Volkner to come)_

_Reply Back to let me know if you're going to show up. Hope to see you there!_

_P.S. I sent this to all the other Gym Leaders and told the other Elite Four members. _

_-Flint_

Now Candice knew what Gardenia meant when she had asked 'Are you going?' Candice clicked reply and started typing. She hit send and did the same with the other message. The first one was to Gardenia. It said:

_It's okay. I understand. We'll talk when we meet._

Her reply to Flint was a simple 'Sounds like fun.' Candice ad ended both her emails the same:

_P.S. I'm going!_

* * *

_well? did you like it? im SO sorry for updating so late! I've had tons of homwork and tests. =(  
i'm also sorry if this want what anyone expected. i needed something to fill in the gaps. i promise you something good in chapter 3. Maylene was like that cuz she drank coffee. she got hyper.  
Give thanks to myimmortal527 (Claire) for helping me write part of this chapter.  
Thanks for being patient with me. Please review. it'll make me more determined to update faster._


	3. Gym Party!

Whew! I was writing the next chapter to this, when I remembered I still didnt type this one up, even though it was done. Sorry. I didnt mean to make you wait this long. No matter what I did, or how many times i went over this (even now), I'm not entirely hapy with the chapter. But I'll give it to you anyway.  
Again, whatever pokemon I say they have, they have it in this story.  
"speaking"  
_'thoughts'  
_Disclaimer: I own nothing. But the plot.  
On with the story! (you get to fint out Volkner's secret love in this one)

* * *

**Candice POV**

Beep, beep, beep! I jolted awake to the sound of my alarm clock. I slammed my hand on the clock to see what time it was, then checked the time. 7:30 am. I groaned into my pillow. _'Why did I put this thing to wake me up so early?'_ I pulled myself up to check my calendar. It was July 4th. I had circled the day with a red sharpie and wrote something, but I was too tired to check what it was, or why I had circled it in the first place.

_'Oh yeah,'_ I thought, finally remembering. _'It's the fourth of July. Flint's throwing that party. I could sleep for a couple more hours…"_

Just as I was about to drift into sleep, I remembered why I was excited about today. Flint was throwing the party in Sunyshore. So I'm sure Volkner was going to be there. But Sunyshore is a hell-of-a-long-ride from here.

I literally jumped out of bed, almost hitting my head on the ceiling, and started to get ready. Brush my teeth. Shower. Get dressed. Brush my hair. And off I go. I tied my hair, but didn't bother braiding it into pigtails. I wore a collard shirt, like the one I usually wear, and had blue Capri on instead of a skirt.

'Wait a second,' I thought as I walked through the ankle deep snow. _'Snowpoint has a dock, and Sunyshore is near the ocean. I could have just asked one of the sailors to bring me there by boat!'_ Why didn't I think of this sooner?

"Oh well," I said out loud. "There's no point in turning back now so I'll just have to keep going.

***

**At Sunyshore**

I finally made it. I checked my watch. 12:30.

So including all the stops I made, and the time it took me to eat breakfast, it had taken me 5 hours to get here.

Last time, it had taken me forever to find the gym. Now, I knew where to go.

As I made my way there, I noticed the streets were filled with people all getting ready for tonight. I made it to the Gym. When I entered, it was unusually quiet, except for the sound of low music coming from somewhere.

As I reached the arena, I opened the doors and found the whole place completely redone. Well, not completely.

There were several tables with drinks and snacks. In the corner of the room was a large DJ-set-thing, with a guy dehind it, who I guessed was our DJ.

Everything was moved to the corners of the Gym, and there was more room in the center.

_'This must have taken a while to prepare,'_ I thought.

There was a flash of pink before someone tackled me, nearly knocking me over. "Candice! It's about time you got here!" cried Maylene. "It was so awkward just being around with Flint and Volkner! Volkner barely says anything and I cant understand a word Flint says! Its so good to finally have some normal company here!"

She took a deep breath just as I heard Flint and Volkner yell, "I heard that!"

You were supposed to!" Maylene yelled back.

I smiled. "It's good to see you too. But, what the hell has gotten into you?" I asked as I hugged her back. She's never this hyper active.

"Coffee!" she happily said. "It keeps me up at night whenever I want to stay up late, and it's really energizing!" That reminded me of the incident that happened when we talked last month. **(AN: remember her sudden outburst in chapter 2? Yeah.)**

I looked up to see Flint walking up to us. "Hey Candice! Glad you could make it! And early too! You live farther away than everyone else from here ye you're the third person here!" _'Third? Oh right. Flint got here first, then Maylene, then me.'_

"When does the party start?" I asked.

Flint looked at his watch. "Well we never really set a time, so once a couple of other come, I guess it will start. For now we can just listen to the music the guy's putting."

"Okay--ah!" I said as Maylene yanked me aside. She may be a midget, but she's one heck of a strong midget!

"Will you excuse us? I need to tell Candice something over there," Maylene told Flint.

"Okay just don't say anything insulting about me, because I _will_ find out."

Maylene didn't reply as she kept dragging me over to a corner. When we were at the opposite side of the room of the boys, she let go of my arm and whispered, "Can I get some answers?"

"I need to hear some questions first," I whispered back.

"So does he know or is he still clueless?" I knew she was talking about Volkner. I looked over to him and saw he was sitting in a chair near the tables, curling his hair in his finger. He looked up, our eyes met for a second, then as casually as I could I looked away.

"Unless he figured it out, I'd say he's clueless," I said.

Maylene gasped, a little to loudly if you ask me. "Then now's you're perfect chance! You know, before everyone else shows up! I can easily lure Flint into a conversation, then you two would have the perfect chance, and then you can tell him and maybe youmpf--"

I quickly put my hand over her mouth before she got too loud. "Try not to raise your voice too much!" I said to her quietly.

I removed my hand from her mouth just as Flint yelled, "I heard my name there!"

"Well, Maylene first told me what she wanted to tell me, then she said how she can start up a conversation with anyone, and I said 'even Flint?' and she was like 'yeah, him too.'" It was stretching the truth, but it really didn't matter.

"Yeah," said Maylene to back me up. "Like I can start a conversation with you right now, and I just remembered I wanted to ask you something, but I don't want them to hear, no offense or anything." She took a deep breath in after finishing her long sentence, and took Flint to another corner of the room. She looked back, then smiled and winked at me.

_'Oh Arceus, why does she do things like this to me?' Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later, so I'll just get it over with sooner and have that off my chest.'_

I walked up to where Volkner was, sitting in another chair near to the DJ set thing. "Hey," I said when I was close enough for him to hear.

He looked up and smiled. "Hi." I could feel the butterflies starting to flutter around in my stomach.

"Flint boring you?" I asked and sat down next to him. I wanted to have a casual conversation before actually telling him. It would seem less awkward that way. Well, for me that is.

He looked over at the redhead. "Don't even get me started. As soon as I saw him, all he could talk about was how to prepare. Jeez. The guy is such a hothead."

"Literally," I said.

"If your friend Maylene hadn't come when she did, I think my head would've exploded!"

"Ew, Gross!" I said. "Then we'd have to wipe off all the brain juice from your head off the walls!" We both chuckled at my remark.

Volkner sighed and leaned back into his chair. "If only I could just go home. But then again, I don't trust Flint being in my Gym when I'm not around. What about you? You came here to party?"

"Yeah. Well no. wait, umm … how do I put this into words?" I pondered. _'I love you! I want you to know that. This I probably my best opportunity. And there's nothing to do much back at home.'_ It's funny how I always think what I want to say but never actually say it. "Well, Maylene Gardenia and I were just planning on chilling together for the week. Then Flint emailed those invitations. So I guess we're going to meet here and do what ever when the party's over."

"Cool," he said, looking at Flint and Maylene still talking.

"Oh, and there's something I need to tell you," I thought aloud.

He turned his head to face me. "Okay then. Go ahead. Say whatever you need to say."

This is it. Now or never. I looked at him straight in the eyes. _'I could get lost in those eyes… Focus Candice!'_ "Volkner I…" I began to say when Flint yelled out, "Hey! I just had an awesome idea!"

We both turned to him. "We should totally let out our pokemon! This _is _a party right? It would be so much better!"

"Hmm, not a bad idea," said Volkner. With that, he took out three poke balls he had with him. Out of them came Jolteon, Raichu, and Luxray.

I let out the two pokemon I had with me. I brought them with me incase I needed them. Froslass and Glaceon. Maylene let out her Lucario and Meditite, and Flint had let out his Infernape, Houndoom, and Flareon. The pokemon scattered and did whatever pokemon do.

Flint started laughing out loud when his Flareon started chasing Volkner's Jolteon. Volkner sighed again, then said, "If only we had a Jigglypuff here. I'd get it to make you fall asleep Flint. Then maybe we wouldn't have to listen to you all the time."

"Hey! That's big talk for someone who wears Jigglypuff boxers," yelled Flint.

Volkner's face turned pink. "What?"

"You know what I'm talking about," insisted Flint. "The ones I saw lying on the floor of your bedroom last month."

Volkner groaned. "Do you guys honestly believe him?"

"Don't look at me. I'm not siding with anyone," I said.

"Me neither! Not yet that is," piped Maylene.

"Whatever," Volkner sighed. "Just don't do anything like this once the others get here… hey where'd he go?" Flint had somehow disappeared from where he was standing.

"Uh, Volkner," Maylene said. "Behind you."

"Huh?" Volkner turned around just in time as Flint pantsed him. **(AN: I don't know if that's how you spell it. Pantsed means you get your pants pulled down)**

Maylene and I just stared. I could feel my cheeks getting hot. His boxers were pink. With little Jigglypuff on them.

_That_, was unexpected.

The two of us burst into laughter. It wasn't very nice of me to laugh, especially at my crush, but I couldn't help myself.

Volkner pulled up his pants and ran out the Gym yelling, "I hate you Flint!"

When I was done laughing, I asked Flint, "Hey, why did Volkner run out like that?"

"To probably go change," he replied. How would he know that Volkner had those, let along wear them, in the first place.

"You know Flint," said Maylene, "if you really wanted to embarrass him, you should have waited for everyone to show up before doing that."

"I could have, but I don't need to. I saw another pair lying on the floor in his room, so I took a picture of them. It had his name on it."

"You're so evil," I said to him. Maylene just continued to laugh.

"Looks like you guys are having fun," said a voice from behind us. We turned around. She was a girl about my age, with light skin and sandy brown hair. There was a Magnemite hovering over her shoulder.

"Jasmine! What took you so long?!" asked Flint. "you said you were going for a walk but you were gone for like an hour!"

Jasmine laughed. "I needed to get away from you and your constant babbling. How does Volkner stand you?" She turned to me. "Oh hi. I don't think we've met."

"I don't think we did either," I said. I stuck out my hand. "Hi, I'm Candice. I'm the seventh Gym leader here in Sinnoh."

She shook my hand. "Cool. I'm Jasmine. I have my own Gym back in Johto."

"Wow. What brings you here to Sinnoh?"

"I wanted to become stronger so I brought my pokemon here to train. I like Sinnoh. It's very nice." 'I guess Flint knew Jasmine was here and invited her too. The more the merrier.' I could tell Jasmine was a very nice person. We could be good friends.

I heard the Gym doors open, and we all looked to see Volkner come in.

"That was quick," said Maylene.

"Well I had to be," he replied. "People would be coming soon, and I don't like the thought of Flint in my Gym without me. Also … Jasmine! When did you get back?"

"Just now," we all said. He went up to Jasmine and kissed her full on the lips. I instantly felt my heart break in half. He turned to me. "Candice, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, this is Candice. She's …"

"We already got through that, before you came," I said still smiling. But it was forced now though.

"Then I guess it saves me an introduction," Volkner said. I just nodded. "Oh and Candice," he started. I looked at him. "What were you going to say earlier? You know, before Flint yelled out." _'Oh Arceus! What do I do?'_ It would be even more awkward if I said it now.

"Um, it was nothing," I merely said. "Don't worry about it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it was nothing?" he asked. "Because you seemed kind of serious about whatever you were going to say." Crap. How do I get out of this?

"Well I…" Just then, the Gym doors opened again, and the Elite-Four/Champion came in, along with my ginger-haired friend. "Gardenia!" I yelled and ran up to her. Saved by the people. We exchanged hugs.

"Wow. You're excited to see me," she said. "Did you miss me that much?"

"I'm just happy that you're here," I said truthfully.

"Hey Gardenia! What's up?!" Maylene shouted from shouted from across the room, before running up to us. "The winsome threesome is together again."

"The what?" Gardenia and I asked simultaneously.

"You know, the winsome threesome. From T-T-Y-L, T-T-F-N and Later Gator, but spelled L-8-R G-8-R," she explained.

Gardenia and I just looked at each other. Even with that explanation, we still had no idea what she was talking about.

Maylene shook her head. "Never mind. But gardenia, what were you so excited about that you wanted to tell us?"

"Oh my God! You wont believe what happened!" Gardenia said with excitement in her voice.

"What?" Maylene and I asked simultaneously. Whether if it was with one or the other, I seemed to be saying things with them at the same time.

"Well do you want to know the reason I sent those emails when I did?"

"And why you didn't send one sooner," I added.

"Okay, so I'm busy off battling people, because those trainers just keep on coming. If they win, more just come. If I beat them, they come back. So I have my mind all clogged out. Then one morning, I didn't fell like going to the gym, and," she stopped to catch her breath. Even though she wasn't talking that fast.

"And?" we asked.

"And guess what?"

"What? Come on just spill it girl!" Maylene urged.

"Roark confessed his love to me and asked me out!"

"No way," I insisted.

"Way." This was easy yet hard to believe. I barely new the guy, but every time he talked to Gardenia he would stutter on his sentences, or get tongue tied. I guess that clued me in that he liked her, but it must have taken a lot of courage for him to not only confess his love, but to also ask out his love.

"Oh my God, give me all the details!" Maylene, obviously, digs this kind of information. So she can use it against us.

"Not now, there are too many people around, and I don't want anyone to know just yet. We can talk about it later."

Maylene pouted. "Fine. I'm just happy that the boy finally got the nerve to ask you out. He was obviously falling head-over-heels over you."

"You mean like the way you are for Aaron?" Gardenia remarked.

Maylene's face turned pink. "I am not falling for Aaron!"

"Yeah, sure you're not," insisted Gardenia, trying to hold in her laughter.

It's like I didn't even exist anymore. Watching Maylene and Gardenia argue was more entertaining than watching television. As usual, I would wait a while before breaking them up. "Okay guys, don't kill each other. Not yet at least. We can save that for later." I turned to Maylene. "But we all know that you like Aaron."

Gardenia laughed again while Maylene turned a darker shade of pink, almost red.

"You know," started Gardenia, "speaking of relationships, how'd it go with you and Volkner?"

The pain in my chest from when my heart broke came back. I'm pretty sure my smile faded. My eyes fell to the floor and my head drooped a bit. "What's wrong?" asked Gardenia, concern in her voice.

Maylene answered for me. "Volkner… is with Jasmine."

Gardenia looked over to them. "Well I can see that, but can you tell me why Candice is all … oh. So he and Jasmine are together." oh Arceus, I could start crying any minute. "I'm sorry Candice," Gardenia said wrapping her arms around me. I hugged my ginger-haired friend back. I didn't want to cry, not in front of everyone.

"Here," said Maylene, handing me a cup of soda. I gulped it down.

"Thanks."

"All we need to do is get your mind off of it. Earlier you were all happy-go-lucky until I mentioned it. We need something to distract you," said Gardenia.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well like," she stopped to think. I must have drank the soda too fast. Right then I burped really loud. The three of us burst into laughter.

"Like that," said Maylene. _'Arceus, I love these two. I couldn't have asked for better friends. I just hope no one else heard me.'_

_

* * *

_

_Yay! It's done! What do you think? This was originally going to be longer, but then I felt it was too long. The next chapter will be part 2 of Gym Party.  
Thank my brother for coming up with the Jigglypuff boxers idea. Stupid, yes, Funny, also yes, and I needed to find a reason to have Volkner leave the Gym  
Review! 3  
If you do, then I'll keep Maylene away from the coffee, and grant you with another chapter!_

_Bye for now!  
-Wolf_


	4. Gym Party! pt 2

__

OMG! I can't believe I havent updated in 5 whole months! I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry for making you wait this long. I ran into a lot of trouble while writing this (School, writers block, loss of interest for a while) but B have it now. Before I bore you with my long and not important reasons why I havent updated saooner, lets get on with the story!

Disclaimer: Do i really have to say it? Everyone aleady knows that I do not own Pokemon. Ok i said it.

**Maylene POV**

After a while, the party tension sort of died down. Not long after Gardenia, Roark, Byron, Fantina, and finally Wake, arrived. People talked, some of us danced, it was just like any day if we were random citizens. When I say 'we,' that excludes Blondie over there, who somehow managed to stay out of everything.

'But we're Gym Leaders, some of the best in all of Sinnoh!' Maybe I'm just starting to get cocky.

"Yo! Everyone, listen up!" yelled Flint. Oh no. The entire time, whenever things would get dull, he'd think of something to try and make this party more exciting. The only two problems, his ideas either suck horribly, or fail to make anything better.

I listened to what Flint had to say, even though no one really cared. "I already talked with our Ralph, and we agreed." **(AN: The DJ's name is Ralph)**

"Agreed on what?" I asked. I'm sorry I asked.

"Is there more to this?" I asked, regretfully. If I didn't ask, someone else was bound to, so it didn't really matter.

"Of course there is!" he said. "No wait,… yeah, that's just about it."

"Wow. Very…uncreative" Volkner muttered. I almost forgot about him, seeing he's always quiet and didn't do much through out the day.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you come up with something," Flint protested. I sometimes wonder how those two ever got to be best friends. It probably has to do with battling or something.

"I never agreed to this. Besides, when does this whole theme song thing start anyway?" he asked.

"I don't know. Like I said, it's random. We just have to wait for…" Flint didn't get to finish because 'Peanut Butter Jelly Time' went on, and everybody stared at him.

"Wow, a perfect fit. Random song for a random guy," Candice said. Most of the others, including me, nodded in agreement.

I was glad that something would keep him busy for a while, and away from me (Don't get me started). But now I had to find something to keep me busy. I looked around to see if there was anything I could do. Then I walked over to the cooler, plan in mind.

**Volkner POV**

'How much longer is this going to last?' I thought. Of course it was a good idea for having all of us just chill together, but I'm not a people person.

"Why don't we dance when this song is over?" Jasmine asked as she walked up to me.

I shook my head. "I don't dance. It's not a thing I do," I said.

"Aw, c'mon! It'll be fun!" she said.

"Jaz, don't make me do this," I almost begged.

"VOLKNER!" someone yelled so loudly I almost jumped. My first thought was that the police were after me, and were going to make me pay for causing the blackout a few months ago.*

"Here comes Flint," Jasmine whispered. I groaned. And there he was, angry looking and red in the face.

"Volkner!"

"What?"

"Look at you! It's already late and you haven't done a single thing! You're worse than a Snorlax!" he fumed.

"Your point exactly…?" I knew he was going to talk to me about it, but what would that accomplish?

As if he heard what I was thinking, Flint strated, "Volkner, by the end of this, if you haven't done something I swear I will post your jigglypuff boxers on the internet and all of Sinnoh…no, the whole world will know about it!" Crap. He couldn't have been serious.

I glared at him. "I mean it," he said. "Now you two enjoy yourselves and I will see how everyone else is doing. Tootles!"

'You have got to be kidding me,' I thought. Just then, a slow song came on. Now or never. I held out my hand and asked, "…Want to dance?"

"I thought you don't dance," Jasmine reminded me, but took my hand anyway.

"If there's ever a time that I should take Flint seriously, now would be one of those times," I said. And so we danced. About halfway through the song, Jasmine looked away as she chuckled under her breath. "What?" I asked.

"Volkner?"

"Yes. What is it?" What was going on?

She turned to me, lifted an eyebrow and said, "Seriously. Jigglypuff boxers?" That did it. I have got to get rid of those. But first…

"Flint! You just made your life a hell of a lot shorter!" I yelled as he ran out of the gym, laughing hysterically. 'I am not going to let him get away with this.'

**Candice POV**  
**Sometime earlier…**

Things went smoother for me once everyone else arrived. It felt a little less awkward when the room was filled with people.

I danced, talked and just chilled the whole time. We've got to do this more often. We never get too much time to relax and hang out together. And us includes the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and of course the Champion.

It was getting dark outside, and I wondered how long this was going to last. Just then, I felt a pair of cold hands cover my eyes, and something pressed against my back. I heard a low growl whisper, "Say anything and I'll shoot."

"Nice try Maylene," I laughed. I turned around and there she was, holding two popsicles.

"Want one?" she asked.

"Sure. Just the thing for a day in July," I said as I took one.

"How did you know it was me?"

I took a bite into my popsicle. "Please. You couldn't sound threatening even if you had Darth Vader's voice."

She snorted. "Now way! If I had Darth Vader's voice I'd have to be all like 'I am your father.' No thank you."

We both laughed. When 'Peanut Butter Jelly' time was over, Ralph thought it was a good time to slow things down a bit.

"Ooh, slow music. Now's your chance to make a move with Aaron," I teased.

"Candice!" she whined as she hit my shoulder. "It's not funny." Just then, Glaceon jumped on her back and knocked her over.

"Yeah but that is," I laughed. Maylene just gave me a look that said 'I'll get you for this later.'

Glaceon hopped off her and scampered away to play with the other Pokemon. I helped Maylene get up off of the floor. Just then…

"Flint! You just made your life a hell of a lot shorter!" we heard Volkner yell. As he did, Flint ran out the door, cracking up.

"I wonder what he did this time," Maylene said.

Before I got the chance to say anything, Flint came back to the room. Is it me, or does he just constantly interrupt me?

"Back so soon?" Bertha asked him.

"I wasn't planning on it… but look!…the fireworks are about to start!…gah!" he said in between pants.

Everyone started pouring outside, running on to the platforms. Other people were there, obviously wanting the best seat in the house.

As we got settled, the first one came up. It was in the form of the Beacon badge. The symbol of Sunyshore.

Next were fireworks in the shapes of different Pokemon: the three starters, Shinx, Burmy, Bibarel, Hipowdon, Lumineon, and many more.

I stared in awe. This was my first time seeing fireworks from outside of Snowpoint, Veilstone, or Eterna City. And it was just as beautiful watching from here as it is from back at home or over at my friends.

The grand finale topped everything off perfectly. A bunch of small fireworks shaped as Pokemon exploded right next to each other. More started to explode in the same manner, and if you looked closely, you could make out the Pokemon, and see that all together it formed a gigantic Beacon symbol.

Afterwards, the place started to quiet down, until people started to talk to each other. They started to get down from the platforms, and we were just about to also.

But then, a loud crash was heard. I thought one of the others had done something stupid to get attention, but then the swarms of people started to flee from somewhere.

The lighthouse.

**Volkner POV**

I saw people running away. My eyes darted in the opposite direction. I saw the lighthouse. And it was on fire.

Everyone rushed towards it, knowing we had to do something. _'Nobody messes with _my_ lighthouse and gets away with it.'_

* * *

_Yay! I was going to finish this up and post it tomorrow, but I decided not to. Everyone, Thank my Glaceon figurine which gave me my inspiration, or else it would have been a while before this chapter was up. _

*does anyone else think that it was Volkner's fault that Sunyshore had the blackout in the diamond/pearl/platinum game? I imagine that he was the one who fixed it, but i wanted to put that stuff anyway.

_Got anything you want to happen? Have any helpful ideas to make my writing better? Message me or just review.  
__Reviews will earn hugs from the guy of your choosing. X3_  
_Flames will be put out using a fire extinguisher...nevermind. I'll just get Wake's pokemon to do that. :)_

_later!_  
_-Wolf_


	5. Team Galactic Attacks

OH MY GAWD. Two updates in ONE DAY! YAY! And also...ANOTHER CHAPTER! I worked my butt off to get this done in time. I am leaving later today to the Dominican Republic and I wont be back until August 26. I will have my notebook with me so I will write as much as I can while I'm over there, and type it when I get back.

This is for Larissa, who had tackled me with a billion questions in the review, so I decided to answer them. If you are not her, than you can either read this or just skip it.

Question: I'm just wondering... Is Volkner going to find out that Candice likes him?  
My reply: Maybe, maybe not. I"LL NEVER TELL! Ok, maybe I will, but probably in some later chapter.

Question: Is he going to break up with Jasmine and go to Candice?  
My reply: Can't say. It will spoil the story if I did.

Question: If he's going to get rid of his jigglypuff boxers, what kind will he have now?  
My reply: (lol) I don't know. Maybe Flint will find out for me. XD

Question: Flint's life is hell?  
My reply: I don't think u got what I meant. Because of what he did, Volkner will now end up killing Flint while he's still young(not literally). Unless someone stops him or convinces him otherwise…

Question: Volkner has done nothing over the past few hours? What have he been doing?  
My reply: Yes he did nothing. I know people who _love_ to party, yet they can be like that for an hour or so. Which makes me wonder how long Volkner can last doing nothing.

Question: Does cheeseburgers eat themselves over and over again? (Don't answer the last one... heh heh...)  
My reply: I'll answer it anyway. No. My brother eats them before they get the chance to. XDDD

And I do hope we become friends. I also just found out you can reply to reviews, but its more fun to do this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo does.  
Slight Mossshipping near the end

* * *

Chapter 5: Team Galactic Attacks

**Volkner POV **

Previously…

_I saw people running away. My eyes darted in the opposite direction. I saw the lighthouse. And it was on fire. _

_Everyone rushed towards it, knowing we had to do something. 'Nobody messes with my lighthouse and gets away with it.'_

The 14 of us made our way through the mob of terrified people towards the lighthouse. As we approached, I noticed a swarm of Zubat and Golbat surrounding the area. This had to be the work of Team Galactic. And sure enough, we spotted some Galactic Grunts.

"We have to split," Cynthia said. "Roark, Volkner, Candice, fight off the galactic grunts. We need to get around and you guys have the type advantage here. The rest come with me." Oh yeah. The galactic grunts didn't seem like much of a challenge to me, but this sure beats laying around doing nothing any day.

**Candice POV **

I turned to my pokemon. "Froslass, Glaceon, use Blizzard!" The two of them blew a wind of snow and ice at the Golbat, even freezing some of them. The grunts turned their attention to us.

"Go Glameow!"

"Stunky, out!"

"Golbat, now!"

The three Pokemon faced us, ready to attack. We were more than ready, until the flock of golbat swooped down in us.

"Eeeep!" I yelled. 'Stupid bats!'

Suddenly everything went from blue and purple, to yellow. As the storm of wings cleared a bit, I saw Volkner and his Luxray. "You guys handle the grunts. Leave the bats to me." He smiled at me, and my heart beat faster.

It lasted only two seconds, before I was pulled into the battle. "Froslass, Shadow Ball! Glaceon, Ice Beam!"

**Gardenia POV **

As Roark, Volkner, and Candice distracted the Galactic Grunts, we made our way to the lighthouse. But the automatic doors weren't working. At times like this, I'm grateful for just regular doors. Wake and Byron stepped up to pry the doors open. With no luck at all.

"I can't get it to open!"

"Pull harder!"

"I'm trying!"

"So am I!"

"Move," Maylene said, stepping up. I smiled, while everyone else just looked at her like she was growing another head. "There's no time for chitchat so…" with that she spun and kicked at the door backwards with one foot. Both doors fell over.

Everyone's eyes were wide, and mouths hanging open. Two grown men couldn't open those doors but a petite girl could. "Well don't just stand there! We have to get going!" We rushed in to the lighthouse, but just as we did, Maylene stayed behind.

"What are you waiting for?" Aaron asked.

Maylene shifted nervously. "Um… you see…" she pointed at all the broken glass and rubble, "and me…" then at her bare feet, and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Alright. Since it would be very bad for you to come up here barefoot, stay down here and help out the others in case they have trouble," Cynthia said. Maylene nodded and left.

The rest of us searched the whole bottom floor, which took about, literally, two minutes. "They're probably at the top. We should take the elevators," Jasmine suggested. Just as she said that, one of the elevators came crashing down.

"Half of us should take the other elevator, and pray that it doesn't fall, while the other half will have to go up the stairs," said Byron. So Fantina, Bertha, Flint, Lucian, and Jasmine went up the elevator. The rest of us went up the stairs.

'_This is a crisis! I don't have the patience now to just stand and listen to elevator music!'_ I regretted not going. Not even halfway there, and I was out of breath. Byron, me, and even Cynthia had to drag ourselves the rest of the way. Aaron and Wake, who ran the whole way, waited for us at the top. Well, Wake is a muscle machine and Aaron must have a lot of stamina and energy.

"I must be getting old," I heard Byron mutter under his breath. Cynthia and I just didn't have the stamina for this kind of running.

At last, we were at the top. But more grunts tackled us. Behind them were the commanders Jupiter and Saturn. It hit me. They were looking for the Spear Key. There was another thing that I noticed; Mars wasn't with them. She was probably down with the other galactic grunts. I wondered how my friends were holding up against them.

**Candice POV **

"Glameow, Shadow Claw!"

"Quick Glaceon, dodge it!" immediately, she moved, the claws just missing her.

Out of nowhere, Glaceon was hit with a round of Fury Swipes. I turned to look, and there was Mars with her Purugly. "Nice job Purugly. With their pokemon worn down, we can handle this easily," she mocked.

Normally I'm a nice person, but right now I just wanted to get that smirk of her face. Whether I had to punch, kick, slap, or whatever, I wanted it gone.

Her Purugly leaped at Glaceon, but it never got to land as it was hit by Aura Sphere. A Lucario jumped by me and faced Purugly. I knew that Lucario all too well. Soon enough, my pink headed friend ran up to us.

"You didn't think I'd let you guys have all the fun, did you?" She asked, playing around. As Mars was readying herself, Maylene said, "Leave her to me. We are more than capable of taking that fur-ball down! And besides, we're at a type advantage!"

I nodded, and looked to Roark and Volkner for a split second. Roark and his Rampardos seemed to be doing fine. The ancient Pokemon didn't look like it even had a scratch. As for Volkner, he looked like he had his hands full from all the Zubat and Golbat. His Pokemon kept on zapping them, but they just seemed to never end.

Back to my battle, another Stunky leaped. "Froslass, use Shadow Ball!"

By now, the whole area was a disaster. I felt bad for the poor workers who would have to fix this place up. But if things were bad here, it was probably worse up there in the lighthouse, where it was already messed with.

**Gardenia POV **

The battle was becoming crazy. So many attacks of different types were everywhere. "Roserade, look out!" I warned as one of their Dustox used Silver Wind. Both of us leaped out of the way before being hit.

Stay in one place for too long, and you were bound to be hit with an attack move. As I leaped back again, I bumped into something hard. "Sorry," I muttered, but looked up into the eyes of a Toxicroak. Saturn's Toxicroak to be exact.

I gasped as the Pokemon held me with one of its arms, and placed it's claw of the other arm at my throat. 'Did it plan to…?'

Cynthia saw me, and her eyes widened. "Garchomp…"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Saturn warned. He motioned to his Toxicroak, who pressed its claw closer to my throat. By now, everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at me.

"Now, return your pokemon to their pokeballs," Jupiter ordered. Reluctantly, everyone did.

"You will let us leave in peace, or you friend here is going to get it," explained Saturn, and Toxicroak's claw began to glow purple. If even a drop of poison got into my bloodstream, it was deadly.

"Walk," Saturn ordered. Both of us did, and everyone slowly made it down the long flight of stairs. I could see the other Leaders and Elites following close by, but none of them were able to do anything as long as I was being held hostage.

As we walked out of the still broken down doors of the lighthouse, we walked into a full out battlefield. Candice and Maylene were the first to notice me. "Gardenia!"

The boys turned their heads to the group, and both pair of eyes widened. Roark looked like he was about to have a heart attack. Even though it wasn't my fault, I was mad at myself for letting myself get caught like this.

Saturn spoke up again. "If you want to keep your friend alive and healthy, you will return you pokemon to their pokeballs, and step aside. We will be taking her with us, to make sure you don't stand in our plans."

Team Galactic's ship was nearby, and we headed there. I saw Maylene's hands curl into fists. She'd probably punch these guys herself if given the chance. As the group of teal-headed people were finished boarding I took one last look back.

Cynthia had a look of regret, not seeing that this was coming. But none of us did. All of the boys and men were eyeing the group, as if looking for an opening to get me free. There was no way they would find one. Fantina's usually smiling face was a sad one, knowing nothing she did could help. Bertha looked at me as if I was a kidnapped grandchild, but I wasn't that far off from one.

Maylene's face was firm, but her fists were shaking. She was completely terrified. Candice was breathing quickly, and looked close to tears, and after what she's been through today, I wouldn't be surprised if she broke down now. I forced myself to look at Roark's face. He was terrified too, but I also saw a look of worry and a bit of anger in his eyes. He was mad because he was helpless just standing there.

As the door closed, I just focused on the ground as best as I could, careful with the Toxicroak's claw. I had to fight back the tears that came. If I was going to snap, it wont be in front of these people. Never.

Hearing an engine start, I knew we were leaving Sunyshore.

**Candice POV**

Everything stopped when I saw Gardenia with Toxicroak at her throat. When the others took notice of it, they seemed to just freeze too. None of us, with the exception of Roark and Byron, were related by blood, but we were still like some extended family.

As Gardenia started to board the Galactic ship, I felt a lump form in my throat. It was too much. First I find out that my love is unrequited, but also that Volkner already had a girlfriend. Then a perfectly good party is ruined by an attack, and now I'm probably losing one of my best friends.

I looked around to everyone else. They were as shocked as I were. I felt a had on my shoulder, and Maylene had the same look as I did. Looking into her eyes I knew it was okay, so I let everything out in long but quiet sobs.

* * *

It is DONE. I bet no one saw that coming! I'm sorry to do this to them, but it goes with my plot. The next few chapters will surely have some romance with the planning of Gardenia's rescue and stopping Team Galactic. (Not a spoiler b/c they need to stop Team Galactic from taking over Sinnoh, and to do that they need to rescue Gardenia since she is being held hostage.)

Also, huzzah for Glaceon who got a lot of mentioning. I also recently got a Giratina figurine(Origin form). IT is awesome!

Enough of my rants! Dont complain cuz I wrote the rest of this in a hurry, and if I didnt, you would have to wait another three weeks before it was up. And I was very tired last night, but I'm uploading it today to make sure there arent too many mistakes.

-Wolf


End file.
